WHIB for Season 4's The Boss
by Cochise1936
Summary: This is a "what happened in between" for "The Boss". I've always thought that there was a lot of time between when Little Joe was shot and when Ben arrives home from town to find the doctor tending to Joe. This is my version of what might have happened. Disclaimer: These are not my characters and I am only borrowing them, I will return them safe and sound.


Hoss Cartwright walked out of the barn and heaved an impatient sigh. Joe said that he would be back with the lumber before ten o'clock, and here it was half-past. "That boy is going to be in trouble again", he grumbled to himself. "If he's gone to see a girl..." Leaving his threat unspoken, Hoss begrudgingly walked back into the barn to saddle his horse, Chubb.

That morning, Ben had assigned the job of repairing fences to Joe and Hoss, but, seeing as how Joe had yet to return with the lumber, the job remained unfinished. "I'll just bet he got his ornery self into some sort of mischief!", Hoss exclaimed. If there was trouble to be had, Joe would find a way to get right in the middle of it.

With that thought, he led Chubb out of the barn and mounted. "I better not find him in the saloon visitin' with some girl", he said to the horse. Chubb whinnied as if to agree with his master as the pair set off down the road to find the errant brother.

Joe felt like he was swimming-as though he were floating through a deep, dark pool. It was calm and peaceful, although soft sounds were beginning to penetrate the darkness. He recognized the sounds of horses snorting nervously and stamping their hooves on the hard packed dirt of the road. If I'm swimming then I must be at the lake, Joe thought. But if I'm at the lake, why are there horses?

The feelings of floating were starting to dissipate, and the noises were getting louder.  
 _Oh, I must be at the corral, breaking that new string of horses for the Army_ , Joe thought to himself. With that thought came a vague, throbbing pain that seemed to be located on the right side of his body _.I must have been thrown off. It must be bad, hurts like hell. Hope Pa didn't see me get bucked off._

Joe's thoughts tumbled round in his head, repeating themselves as he tried to make sense out of what was going on. As he neared the edge of consciousness he made a weak effort to push himself up, only to have pain crash down on him and send him spiraling into darkness once again.

As Hoss neared the Ponderosa turnoff, his thoughts of irritation turned to thoughts of worry. _Joe wouldn't just up and leave when we haven't even started a job yet. And I s'pose he wouldn't go into town if Pa was there. The only good reason he would be late would be if he ran into some kind of trouble and couldn't come home. Oh Lordy, please let him be okay!_ Hoss urged Chubb into a canter, and without hesitation, turned him down the west fork, in the direction of the sawmill.

As Hoss and Chubb made their way down the road, Chubb's ears suddenly pricked forward. Hoss reined him to a stop, listening closely for the sound that would hopefully lead him to Joe. There it was, the distressed whinnying and neighing of frightened horses. Urging his mount onwards, Hoss found himself praying desperately for his brother's safety.

Within minutes, Hoss was relieved to see the team and wagon that had left the Ponderosa that morning come into sight. But his relief was short-lived at the realization that the crumpled figure at the side of the road was his little brother, Joe. Dismounting quickly, Hoss secured Chubb to the back of the wagon and rushed to his brother's side, trying in vain to waken the boy. "Little Joe? Wake up buddy, show big brother you're okay. Come on."

Getting no response from his younger brother, Hoss gently turned him from his stomach to his back and gasped. The right shoulder of Joe's green jacket was soaked with blood, causing Hoss to curse under his breath. "Dadburn it, Joe, what happened to you?". Knowing that he had to act quickly, he carefully removed Little Joe's jacket and unbuttoned his tan shirt underneath.

Hoss sucked in his breath at the sight of the ugly bullet wound in Joe's shoulder. The injury was steadily seeping blood and showed no signs of stopping. Taking his handkerchief out of his pocket, he folded it into quarters to make a square of thick padding. Pressing it firmly against the gaping hole, he tried to ignore Joe's soft moans of pain. "It's all right, Joe. Hoss is gonna take care of ya. Just tryin' to stop the bleeding", he reassured his brother. "Everythin's okay."

Hurrying over to his saddlebags, Hoss opened them up and pulled out the small sack of medical supplies that Ben insisted that they all keep in case of an emergency. Silently thanking his father for his insight, he settled back at Joe's side and began searching the bag for the long strips of white cloth to use as a makeshift bandage to keep the padding in place.

After winding the cloth tightly around his brother's chest and shoulder, Hoss tied the remaining fabric in a knot and surveyed his handiwork. _Not too bad, considerin' I ain't a doctor. He needs water now._ Satisfied with the way it looked, Hoss reached for his canteen and uncorked the stopper. Putting one of his large hands under Joe's head, he carefully raised it and put the canteen to his brother's lips. With a little help from Hoss, Joe began to drink the water, although he was still unconscious.

Knowing that he had done everything in his power to make his brother more comfortable, Hoss straightened and surveyed the surrounding area. He could detect no sign of movement in the nearby shrubs and trees, nor could he hear anything resembling footsteps or hooves. Since there was an absence of boulders, or other things that could hide a person around them, Hoss deduced that it was unlikely that the shooter was still lurking somewhere in the area.

Noticing that Joe was beginning to squirm and moan softly, Hoss knelt down once again and carefully scooped him up as though he was no more than a child. Cradling Joe's limp body to his chest, he said, "We're goin' home now, brother. We'll git the Doc and he'll fix you right up".  
Upon reaching the wagon, Hoss gently transferred his little brother to the seat of the vehicle, placing him on the right side of the seat.

Holding Joe steady, Hoss climbed up to the seat's left side and put his arm around the younger man's back and shoulders, holding him close to his body for support. With the reins in his left hand, Hoss urged the team to begin walking up the left fork road, towards the Ponderosa. Knowing that the horses could get them home without his direction, he slowly laid Joe's head in his lap so that the unconscious boy was lying across the seat and wrapped both his arms around him, crooning softly.

As the team trotted along the Ponderosa road, Hoss' thoughts were quickly moving from worried to angry. Who could have done such a terrible thing as to shoot his brother and leave him? _When I get my hands on the person that did this I'm gonna tie 'em in a knot, then I'm gonna knock 'em out, and when I'm done with that I'll-_ His mental tirade was interrupted by Joe's soft cries. "Shhhh Joe, it's okay, we're almost home. I can see the Ponderosa from here." Hoss gently rubbed his brother's back in a soothing manner, and bolstered by the sight of the ranch house coming into his line of vision, Hoss snapped the reins of the team to urge them on faster.

Pulling the wagon to a stop on the yard, he called out to one of the ranch hands who was walking out of the bunkhouse. "Hank! I need ya to git the doctor. Joe's been shot!" Hank ran towards the barn to tack up a horse while Hoss gathered his little brother into his arms and carried him through the front door of the house. He vaguely heard Hank galloping out of the yard as he made his way to the settee and eased Joe onto it.

Hoss adjusted his brother's body on the cushions and checked the bandage. There was a little fresh blood on it, and Hoss worried that Joe had lost too much on the bumpy ride to the Ponderosa, despite his care. Taking Joe's handkerchief put of his pocket, he wadded it against the wound to prevent further blood loss. Hoss laid a hand on Joe's forehead, checking for fever. He was a little warm, but not excessively so.

Breathing a sigh of relief and thanks for the low fever, knowing that it was Joe's body reacting to the ordeal it had been put through, Hoss stood and hurried to the pump in the kitchen. Grabbing one of Hop Sing's bowls and a handful of rags, he pumped some cool water into the bowl and brought it back out to where Joe lay silent. Dipping the rag into the water, Hoss squeezed the excess liquid out and wiped the sweat off Joe's face and chest and laid a wet, folded cloth on his head to keep the fever from getting any worse.

Knowing that there was nothing else that could be done until the doctor arrived, Hoss continued to smooth the towel over Joe's sweating body while praying endlessly for the boy's well-being. It wasn't until he heard Joe moving restlessly that he opened his eyes and began to rub Joe's left arm in a soothing fashion, humming softly as he did so to calm the boy.

Doctor Paul Martin was sitting in his office enjoying a late morning cup of coffee when he heard the pounding of hooves on hard-packed dirt outside the front door. The hooves stopped and were replaced by the sound of boots on the wooden steps in front of his office. Knowing that his services would soon be needed, Paul rose from his seat and opened the door to a panting Hank Jessup just as he was about to knock.

"Doc, they need ya at the Ponderosa. Joe's been shot. Hoss told me ta bring ya", Hank said as he tried to get his breath back.  
Paul just shook his head and sighed. _What has that boy gotten himself into now?_ "Do you know when it happened?"  
"Naw, Hoss just came ridin' in on the wagon with Joe an' carried him inta the house", Hank explained.  
"Alright Hank, thank you. Could you please hitch up my buggy while I gather up some instruments and things?"  
"No problem, Doc. I'll get right to it!" Hank turned and hurried down the steps toward the small stable which housed the doctor's horse and buggy. Paul shut the door and opened up his medical bag, checking to be sure that he had everything that he might need to help Joe. _I swear, that boy gets into more trouble than anyone else I know_ , he thought to himself. Examining the contents of his bag and seeing that he had all that he needed, he closed up his bag and pulled his coat off its hook. He now opened the door and stepped out on the porch, locking the door behind him. Perfect timing, he thought as Hank came around the corner of the office with the buggy horse's reins in his hand. "Here ya go, Doc."  
"Thank you, Hank. I'll be on my way now", Paul said as he snapped the reins against the horse's rump, sending it into a fast trot. He could only hope that Joe would be all right until he got there.

Joe had yet to awaken when the doctor arrived with a brisk knock on the heavy wooden door. Hoss' visible relief when he pulled the door open caused Paul considerable worry about Joe's condition. "Hoss, what happened and how is he?", he asked.  
"I don't know exactly what happened, just that Pa had asked us repair the corral fence, and when Joe didn't show up with the lumber when he was s'posed to, I went after him. I found him layin' on the road next to the wagon covered in blood. He'd been shot in the right shoulder, and he's been unconscious ever since." As Hoss explained what happened, Doctor Martin was carefully examining his patient-listening to his breathing, checking his pulse, and evaluating the severity of the injury.

"Have you gotten any fluids in him?", the doctor questioned. Hoss nodded. "A bit of water here and there, it's kinda hard when he's unconscious."  
"That's good, also you did an excellent job of making sure you stop his bleeding. If a man loses too much blood, there's not much that can be done. Now I'm going to need some boiling water to sterilize my instruments, because the sooner we do that, the sooner I can get that bullet out of him".

Hoss went to do the doctor's bidding, as well as gathering up a few rolls of bandages for him upon removal of the bullet. While he waited for the water to boil, he walked back out to the great room where Paul was readying Joe for the operation. "Are you gonna put him out, Doc?", Hoss asked. The doctor shook his head. "I really don't think that's necessary, given the depth of his unconsciousness. I will give him a small dose of laudanum, though, just to make sure that he doesn't wake up in the middle of the procedure. Is that water boiling yet?"

Upon checking the water, Hoss found it to be boiling, and bringing out a deep tray of it, he handed it carefully to the doctor for his surgical instruments. While waiting for his tools to be ready, Paul began easing the rest of Joe's shirt off and removing the makeshift bandaging that Hoss had used. With the removal of the soiled cloth came a small amount of fresh blood from the wound, which he gently wiped away with a scrap of bandage material. "Hoss, will you be able to assist me, or would you rather Hop Sing do it?"  
"Well Doc, since Hop Sing is in San Francisco visitin' family, I'll do it. 'Sides, I've gotten him this far so I must do okay." Paul smiled at Hoss' reasoning and removed his instruments from the tray, drying them on a sterile towel. "All right, now what I need you to do is hold him down just in case. He shouldn't wake, but on the slight chance that he does I want to be prepared."

Hoss came and knelt next to the settee to Paul's right and placed his left hand on his brother's hip, the other on his good shoulder. "Are you ready?", Paul asked. Hoss gave a short nod of affirmation. "Ready as I'll ever be, Doc."  
Paul acknowledged him with a nod of his own, and poised the scalpel over the wound. He cut the inflamed flesh in an expert downward motion, quickly wiping up the fresh blood that welled there. Hoss felt his anger at whomever had shot his brother resurface as he held Joe down. _One way or another, they're gonna pay for what they did to him_ , he thought.

Next, Paul inserted his probe into the wound and began his search for the bullet. After several intense minutes of searching, he threw a triumphant smile at Hoss as the probe hit the small piece of lead. "There it is, now it just needs to come out of there." It took a few minutes longer to retrieve the bullet, given its position lodged under Joe's collar bone. As Paul drew his long tweezers out of the wound, Hoss took his hand off of Joe's left shoulder and handed the doctor a small bowl to put the bullet in. It made a high pinging noise as it rolled around the china surface.

Reaching into his bag for a bottle of antiseptic and a clean cloth, Doctor Martin motioned for Hoss to hold his brother tightly. "This is going to sting to high heaven, so make sure you have a tight grip on him." Sure enough, when Paul applied the liberally soaked cloth to the incision in Joe's shoulder, he began to struggle weakly. His low mumbles were steadily growing into soft moans of pain. Seeing Hoss' pained expression, Paul reassured him. "We're almost done disinfecting, then it just needs stitched up. He'll be waking soon."

Soon after, Joe was stitched and bandaged tightly. "When is your Pa due back, Hoss?", the doctor asked.  
"He should be back any minute."  
Their conversation was interrupted by Joe asking softly, "Doc? What are you doin' here?"  
Coming back to sit by Joe's side, Hoss answered, "He's been puttin' you back together, Buddy. Don't ya remember what happened?"  
"Kind of, where's Pa?", he asked wearily. He wasn't feeling too well, and all he wanted was for his father to be with him. "He had a meeting Joe, he'll be here soon", Hoss replied.

As if on cue, Hoss heard a horse pull into the yard. "I'll bet that's him, Joe." Leaving his brother in the capable hands of the doctor and giving him a reassuring pat, he walked out the front door and into the yard where his father waited to explain the reason behind the doctor's presence.

********* _Proceed with the episode*********_


End file.
